Tomorrow, at 11:00 AM, Dreamhack Masters Malmo enters the playoff stages with the top eight teams who made it through the loser bracket. So far the tournament has been filled with upsets as top teams have been knocked out making this possibly one of the most interesting Dreamhack tournaments to date.

Already we’ve seen the exit of Luminosity, hot off their victory at MLG Columbus, and Astralis, who often blast through the group stages at every major tournament. This has set the stage for up and coming teams to earn their spot in the global rankings as CS:GO continues to grow globally. The eight teams in the playoffs have now been granted Legend status, which means they will get a direct invite to the next Dreamhack Masters tournament.

Natus Vincere came into the competition, alongside Luminosity, as favourites to win the competition. At the MLG Columbus Major they fell short due to an injury of one of their star players, GuardiaN. GuardiaN missed the group stages while still in recovery, but has been cleared to join his team this weekend in Malmo, Sweden. They played the group stages with coach and former player Starix, who stepped up to the plate and aided Natus Vincere as they took the top spot in their group.

Tyloo on the other hand upset the balance as they knocked out both Team Liquid and Luminosity, instilling fear in all who may face them. Tyloo have won the hearts of many as they continue to employ perfection of the basics in CS:GO. This match will be an extremely interesting showdown between the two teams as Natus Vincere return with a recovered GuardiaN only to face the unpredictable Chinese underdogs.

Team Dignitas, who topped their group, have been touch and go for quite some time as they Danish roster have struggled versus the professional and lower tiered teams. They managed to defeat their Danish counter-parts Astralis, and now may have the confidence to defeat a struggling French team, EnvyUS.

EnvyUS, after once being considered the best team in the world, fell on hard times as a clear roster change was imminent. The French team switched things up prior to the Masters as they kicked long time member KioShiMa and replaced him with Devil. The French side showed flairs of former glory in their group match decided against Tempo Storm last night as they secured their spot in the Quarter Finals. This match will more than likely be the toughest of the quarter-finals as both teams are arguably of equal status on paper. Can the French bounce back with their new roster?

Mousesports topped their group in the group A upset as they defeated Luminosity in their first game. Mousesports’ performance has been long hanging on the shoulder of Nex, who turned up during the group stages and drove the team to victory. Taking both their best of one matches the German team are now facing perhaps an easier opponent, Godsent.

Godsent, being one of the newest independent organizations, came with familiar faces as they proved that a new team should not be taken lightly. Under the guidance of Pronax, CS:GO mastermind and former Fnatic in-game leader, Godsent fell short of their victory vs. Natus Vincere but proved they deserved to be in the playoffs after they handed G2 Esports a harsh defeat in the decider match.

The final match of the day will be an age old showdown between two rivals, Swedes vs. The Polish. Ninjas in Pyjamas have struggled the past several months, mostly not even making it out of group stages. At MLG Columbus the Swedish side had to make use of their coach as Pyth struggled to obtain a visa in time. This time the Swedish team have the home crowd advantage and say they’re ready to make Sweden proud.

Virtus.Pro on the other have proved in the past what a team can do with a home crowd, but now they’re on the receiving end of what could be the tightest match if both teams show up. Virtus.Pro have also been struggling in recent tournaments, but now they face a team who they have beaten in the past and plan to continue this trend.